Sheet-music turner.



Patented May 10, 1910.

J. 0. PHILLIPS.

SHEET MUSIC TURNER.

APPLIGATION FILED Nov. 23, 190s.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOI-IN O. PHILLIPS, 0F CANAJOHARIE, NEW YORK.

SHEET-MUSIC TURNER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN O. PHILLIPS, of Canajoharie, in the county ofMontgomery and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Sheet- Music Turners; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thecharacters of reference marked thereon, which form part of thisspecification.

The object of my present invention is to provide a sheet music turner,which is simple and eiiicient in operation and well adapt ed to meet therequirements of such a device.

Figure 1 shows a partial front elevation and a partial vertical sectionas on line A-A of Fig. 3 of the device. Fig. 2 is a partial front Viewand a partial vertical section taken on line C-G of Fig. 3, with movableparts, however, adjusted to a different position. Fig. 3 is a horizontalcross section taken on line B-B of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal crosssection similar to Fig. 3, with movable parts in a diiferent position.Fig. 5 is a partial front elevation and a partial vertical section takenon line D-D of Fig. 4.

Referring to the reference characters in a more particular description,10 indicates the body which is, in fact, an open-back case, supportingand containing the working parts of the device and provided with athumb-screw clamp 11, by means of which it may be secured to the musicrack of a piano or other musical instrument or to any other desirablesupport. Mounted in bearings in one end of the case are the severalsheet supporting arms 12, 13, 14 and 15, four of such being shown,although more or less may be obviously provided. The hinged end of thearms 13, 14 and 15 are secured on and supported by the telescopingsleeves 13a, 14a and 15a, while the pintle 12a of the arm 12 has abearing in the sleeve 13a and in the top of the case. The sleeves 13a,14a and 15a are respectively provided with coil springs 13b, 14b and15", one end of each being secured to its respective sleeve and theother end supported in the case, and they are tensioned to swing thearms 13, 14 and 15 from the position shown at the right of Fig. 1 to aposition parallel with the arm 12 at the left of Fig. 1. No spring isprovided for swinging Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 23, 1908.

Patented May 10, 1910.

Serial No. 464,004.

the arm 12, for ordinarily the first sheet of music is carried Vby thisarm, and it may well be turned by the operator. Each of the arms 12, 13,14 and 15 is provided with spring clamps 16 for grasping the upper edgeof a sheet of music. For securing the three swinging arms 13, 14 and 15against the tendency of their respective springs and on the right-handside, as the device is shown in Fig. 1, there is provided a sliding stopbar 17 having bearings in the upper and lower sides of the case andadapted to be projected at its lower end into the path of these arms. Aspring 13 is provided secured at its lower end to the stop bar 17 and atits upper end of the case and tensioned to move the stop bar upwardly,and particularly to withdraw its lower projecting end upwardly into thecase. An escapement device is provided consi sting of a rocking plate 19mounted upon a fixed pivot 2() in the frame, and having a pair of catchplates or dogs 21 and 22 adapted at their operative ends to engage witha set of ratchet teeth in the edge of the stop bar 17. The two dogs 21and 22 are pivoted on the swinging end of the plate 19, as indicated at21a and 22a, in such manner as to allow both to swing downwardly belowthe plane of the plate 19, but are limited in their upward swingingmovement at a point substantially in the plane of the upper face of theplate 19. A spring 23 serves to normally hold the dog 21 in itshorizontal projecting position, while a spring 24 serves to normallyhold the dog 22 in its downwardly inclined position. These two positionsof the dogs 21 and 22 make them reOister respectively with two adjacentnotches between the ratchet teeth of the stop bar 17.

A spring 25 secured at one end to the case and at the other end to theplate 19 at one side of its pivot serves to normally swing the plate 19with its dogs into the position shown in Fig. 3. For manually operatingthe escapement device, consisting of said plate 19 and dogs 21 and 22,there is provided a cord or flexible connection 2G secured at one end tothe dog 22 and passed through an eye 27 in order to change thedirection, and thence out of the top of the case. This cord can becontinued to a treadle if desired.

Several sheets of music being secured in the clamps of the arms 12, 13,14 and 15, at i least three of the sheets will be swung to theright-hand position, as shown in Fig. 1, and

secured there against the tension of the springs 13b, 14h and 15b byt-he operator sliding down stop bar 17, so that the lower endprojectsinto the path of these three arms. The arm 12 may be also swung aroundand caught by the slide bar if desired. 1t may be here noted, also, thatthe arm 12 may be provided with a spring to actuate it, same as theother three shown, if desired. As the device is shown, however, theoperator will by hand swing the arm 12 carrying` one sheet lof musicaround in the left-hand position and against the stop 29. By drawing onthe cord 26 the escapement mechanism and particularly the dogs 21 and 22will be swung over into the position shown in Fig. 1. In so doing, thedog 22 becomes free from the stop bar and under the influence of thespring 24 is swung into its lower position. When tension on the cord 26is relieved, the 'escapement mechanism will be swung back into normalposition by the spring v25. In so doing, the dog 21 is withdrawn fromthe ratchet teeth of the stop bar, while the dog 22 is moved intoengagement therewith at the lower notch. As the dog 21 is nallywithdrawn, the stop bar 17 is moved up one notch under the influence ofthe spring` 18. The distance between the teeth of the stop bar 17 willbe made to equal Vor substantially equal the distance Vbetween centerson the arms 13, 14 and 15. It will thus appear that each time that thecord 26 is pulled and released, the stop bar 17 will be moved up oneposition, releasing one of the swinging arms, and that when released thearm carrying a sheetof music will be swung around into the left-handposition. `The musician is thus relieved of any trouble in turning thesheets of music, further than to trip the escapement, which, as beforesuggested, can be readily done by means of a treadl'e. The spring 23supporting the dog 21 in its normal position enables the stop bar 17 tobe forced downwardly, even when engaged with this dog, withoutinterference or danger of injuring the escapement mechanism.

It is evident that numerous changes in and from the construction hereinshown and described can be made without departing from the inventionhereinafter set forth in the claim.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a sheet music turner a case having a set of spring actuated armshinged in the case and arranged in different contiguous planes, asliding stop bar mounted in bearings in the case and adapted to have oneend projected into set position across the path of the several swingingarms and having a set of ratchet teeth, a spring for actuating said stopbar in its retracting movement, a manually operated and pivotallymounted escap'ement operating on the teeth of the sliding stop bar 'andhaving two adjacent spring tensioned dogs, the first dog holding thesliding stop bar in set position and yielding to allow said stop bar tobe forced to a lower set position without manipulating the escapementand tensioned to move upon disengagement from the stop bar to be in lineat its operating end with the next lower notch in said stop bar and tobe raised upon engagement therewith, the second dog ten sioned to benormally on a line with the upward position of the first dog but toyield to downward pressure of the stop bar, and a spring swinging theescapement back after each operation into position where the first dogengages the stop bar, substantially as set forth.

1n witness whereof, I have aflixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses, this lifth day of Nov., 1908.

JOHN O. PHILLIPS. lVitnesses PETER MoRFonD, HENRY A. HENRY.

